"But the primary reason Harley sells so well in the US is Marketing, Marketing, Marketing. If they had done the same in the UK or Europe, you'd see a LOT more Cruisers on the road, I'd bet. " Don't think so..European's use bikes for transportation and the pleasure of riding and touring on twisty roads. Not cruising on straight flat roads from one poser bar to another.. Don't believe the GPTB.. I have been to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.. they haven't at least not lately..

H-Ds core buyers are people who have already owned one. You don't get repeat customers of you're all hype and no substance.

Perhaps, but how did they grow from that core? What about the veritible feeding frenzy that Steale... erm,..... Dealers in the '90s had over customers: "I can't sell to you, you don't live within my sales-region". Or the "I expect to see you in my Dealership AT LEAST once a Month. Within six months, if you've spent $3000 or more on accessories and T-Shirts, I'll put you on The Waiting List". This kind of crap went on not because Harley made such a great product - it was all Marketing Hype, selling the "Lifestyle" to some schlub who had more money than brains, vying desperately to fit-in and be seen as "Billy Badaz".

Don't forget the Japanese fall all over themselves trying to copy that "hype."

I'll not argue with you there. The Japanese Manufacturers have "bought in" almost a badly as the American Consumer. Harley makes a good product - and they've come a LONG way over the years. But it's not THAT good. Neither are the Japanese Copies, for that matter. They're Cruisers, fercrapsake. Possibly the MOST specialized niche in Motorcycling.

Well I'll have to disagree with you there young GPTB member.

At least we can disagree on something and not make it our life's goal to "prove the other person wrong at all costs, even dignity and credibility".

Even though you are..........

[b];^p~

__________________Parfois, on fait pas semblant Sometimes, it's not pretendOderint Dum MetuantLet them hate so long as they fearполитики предпочитают безоружных крестьянPoliticians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Nothing to see here, Citizen. Move along now...

The 90s hype was simply a function of supply and demand. H-D produced 110,000 bikes when I bought my first one in '96 (at MSRP and no waiting list mind you).

The raping and pillaging was at the dealer level. I mean if someone offered you 5 grand more than your bike was worth you wouldn't take it?

I can remember walking into dealers that had zero new bikes to sell. The factory responded by tripling production and now you can find any bike you want with no wait. Heck my local dealer is offering a Destroyer at 5 grand off MSRP.

My Electra Glide doesn't perform like a Tuono but then the Tuono doesn't perform like my Electra Glide.

Click here here and here for links to myself saying the exact same thing. If I moderate my own post upward and link to it that makes me an authority.

We use cookies to improve your experience on this website and so that ads you see online can be tailored to your online browsing interests.
We use data about you for a number of purposes explained in the links below. By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of data and cookies.
Tell me more |
Cookie Preferences